Growing Spaces

Growing Spaces is our flagship, award winning community project. Growing Spaces won the National Housing Federation’s What We Are Proud Of 2010 award for the south east. Growing Spaces is delivered by us in partnership with Spectrum Housing Association – it’s a raised bed project that aims to give people everything they need to start to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

Every participant receives:

An individually tailored, purpose-built raised bed which is filled with a locally sourced soil and compost mix.

Seeds and plants along with all the information and advice you need to look after them.

A regular training programme – created and delivered by Growing Ideas – including drop in cooking, advice and give-away sessions.

Access to the project website, designed and maintained by Growing Ideas: Growing Spaces.

The chance to join the island community growing together and to share their experiences with others.

It’s all for free and it’s free to all so look us up, sign up and join in!

The partnership delivery of the Growing Spaces project perfectly suits our stated aims to pursue excellence and to work to improve local communities from the ground up. We have built, installed and filled every single raised bed, we have developed and continue to maintain the website and the community blog and have led all of the project’s support and training events. This personal and involved approach is one of the project’s real strengths – every single participant knows who we are, what we do and where they can find help, advice and support.

The unqualified success of the Growing Spaces project means a great deal to us both professionally and personally – it enhances our corporate reputation and we have made many new friends during our involvement too. There are many wonderful things about Growing Spaces and it is tremendously satisfying to know that we are having an immediate social impact via the project. We will also be leaving behind a useful, sustainable, long-term resource along with nearly two thousand, healthier, happier, highly motivated and upskilled local people. The legacy of Growing Spaces, and our part in it, will continue to improve the lives of individuals, families and whole neighbourhoods long after the project ends and for all these reasons, we are proud to be involved.